Just different
by teaandcharcoalforbreakfast
Summary: Arthur is a light faerie charged with helping a family. Alfred is a dark faerie who is fond of him. Then a boy from Arthur's family falls in a river and Alfred rescues him. In return, Alfred gets Arthur to come back to the City of Darkness. AU. Smut later
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Yet another Deannon from the kink meme. The request was for Dark Fae!Us and Light Fae!UK, bonus for use of magic, USUK, and smut.

I used faerie instead of fae because I already had to use human names instead of country names and I need my comfort from somewhere. This chapter is probably T max, but I put it at M so I didn't have to change it when I finish part 2, in which there is smut. As usual from me. Enjoy my ramblings, as the "good part" will probably be out sometime Sunday.

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><p>"Hey, Artie! Artie, Artie, Artie! Come on man, ya gotta talk ta me." The annoying heathen said as he chased after the other faerie.<p>

"I must do no such thing." _Arthur_ said, looking back over his shoulder.

"Come on, man. Throw me a bone. You're being a total asshole. I haven't done anything and you're still treating me like I personally killed your dog and fed him to you."

"Oh, I'm sure you've done worse."

"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"Look, _Alfred, _I really do not have time for this right now."

"Why not? We're fae. We've got all the time in the world."

"_Yes," _Arthur thought, _"But he doesn't." _

The light faerie didn't bother speaking again, putting all of his energy into flying through the trees as quickly as possible. As a falcon, it was easier for him to cut through the foliage than the dark faerie who had taken the form of a ridiculously large eagle. It was just like the thick-headed twat to pick something that made him feel superior. It was probably necessary, considering that his true form was probably something slimy with a multitude of tentacles.

Within a matter of moments, Arthur reached the river. The five-year-old buy from the family he was taking care of at the time was bobbing in the water, desperately trying to breathe.

Arthur cursed under his breath. He had sensed that the boy was in danger, but he didn't think it was anything like this. Arthur could heal wounds in the blink of an eye; he could cure any illness; he could ward away any attacker; he could shield a person from any danger. But this? He had no power over the river. Light faeries were able to effect life, not reality.

What was he going to do? It wasn't like he could fly over and pull the boy out: he was too heavy, and Arthur didn't think that he could change into anything strong enough to normally be able to pull a struggling boy to shore that might under _any_ circumstances do so. Sure, he had extra strength gifted to him by his species, but if he were to use it he would reveal himself.

The light faerie looked around for something, anything that he could use to save the child, but the trees were all too far away for one branch to be "just a little longer than the boy thought originally" and all of the nearby bushes were too fragile to keep him from being swept away in the current.

Arthur landed on a branch and stared at the scene below. He had to save the child somehow, but if the only way to do so would be to reveal himself he'd probably be killed by the court. He wondered which would be worse: knowing that he let the boy die, or knowing that he'd condemned himself and probably inadvertently killed who-knows-how-many.

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it, _damn it._

"Hey, Artie!" Of course _now _would be when the dark faerie who had been following him for the past few days managed to escape the woods. Now if even if he _did _manage to save the child, Alfred would probably try to eat it.

"What was the rush about?" The sod asked.

"Are you blind, you daft fool?" Arthur demanded.

"Oh, the kid? He's just swimming, isn't he?" If the git had a mouth instead of a beak, he'd surely be beaming.

"He's drowning, you idiot!"

Alfred cocked his head to the side, "What's that mean?"

Arthur looked at the other faerie, exasperated, "It means that if he doesn't get out of the water soon, he'll die."

With a sigh, the other faerie said, "Now, this is why I don't keep pets. They're a pain in the ass. They're always trying to run away, or accidentally killing themselves, or actually needing to eat-"

"He's not my pet!"

"Right. Don't worry; the hero will get your _human companion _from the mean old river."

"_Alfred!" _Arthur yelled. What on earth was he planning?

However, it was too late. The other faerie had already jumped from the tree, changing into his preferred form on the way down: a tall, well-muscled blond wearing a black tunic, almost ordinary if not for his inhuman beauty and the unnecessary but magnificent wings sprouting from his back. Conceited twit.

With a smirk, Alfred stood and looked at the boy, still struggling to get air into his lungs. Almost lazily, he lifted a hand. The boy' body floated out of the water. No, Arthur realized, was _pushed _out of the water.

That was right, dark fae had other powers: powers to manipulate the elements, to change matter as they pleased. Alfred was… he was saving one of Arthur's humans. Well, he still couldn't just stand there slack-jawed.

"Be gentile, idiot!"

Alfred grinned back, putting a finger to his lips. If he were to say anything in human form, the boy would understand him. Arthur made a note to tell future generations of the only time the dark faerie did anything even mildly intelligent.

The dark faerie turned back to the boy and held out his arms. The wind and the water pushed the human forwards. Alfred caught him easily.

"Hello there, cutie," he said, holding the boy with one hand and tickling his nose with the other.

The child, understandably, fainted.

"Look what you did, you moron," Arthur said, jumping down and resuming his preferred form as well, a much more normal-looking blond with typical clothing, "You made him pass out."

Alfred still just looked down at the boy with adoration in his eyes, "You sure picked an adorable little _companion_. I love playing with other people's humans. It's too bad he fell asleep, though. But I guess that almost dying could tucker a little guy out. They're so cute when they're little like this, though, especially when they're asleep." He looked up at Arthur, "Can I have him?"

"No! He doesn't even belong to me. He has a family: a mother a father, and two little sisters."

"Woah," Alfred said, eyes wide, "You can take care of_ five _humans at once? I can't even keep one. Oh, you probably leave 'em free range, though, don't ya?"

"How many times do I have to say it: I. Don't. Own. Them."

Alfred sighed, "Figures I'd make friends with one of those crazy-kid-ladies. Even if you're not a lady."

Arthur glared back and grabbed the boy from the other faerie. "I have to be getting him home. If you're going to come with me, be nondescript."

Alfred lit up and his cowlick wagged like a dog's tail, "I get to play with more humans?"

"You can't play with them, but yes, you can see the rest of my family."

"Awesome!"

"Now pick something normal to change into. Try a dog or something," Arthur suggested, watching the still-twitching lock of hair.

"Okay, I think I can do a dog."

He closed his eyes, apparently trying to make his non-existent brain work. A moment later, he changed into a large, golden wolfhound.

"Woof, woof," Alfred said, smiling.

"Close enough." Arthur said. He began to walk back to the boy's house. Alfred followed him as though he really were a loyal hound.

"So how far away are the rest of your humans?"

"Not very. Walking like normal people, we should be there within ten minutes."

"Are they all as cute as him?"

Arthur thought for a moment about his girls: one barely three years old, one only a few months old. The father and mother were still in their late teens, the former looking somewhat like a puppy with hands too large for his wrists and the later with long curly hair and a sweet smile, "Yes, yes they are."

"Awesome!"

Another thought crossed Arthur's mind, "You're not planning to eat any of them, are you?"

He held his breath, waiting for the other faerie's answer. He didn't want to have to fight him. It wouldn't end well. Whenever two fae had an argument that got physical, there was always massive damage both to the physical world and to the civilian population. Alfred was certainly formidable, but Arthur was very good at what he did. His healing and shielding spells were some of the strongest in the City of Light, and he was able to summon a massive force of weaker fae to assist him easily. However, in the end, wouldn't Arthur still lose when his family's house was destroyed?

Thankfully, Alfred just shrugged and said "Nah. Humans taste gross and make me sick. I do like the milk and honey they leave out for us, though. Think I can get any of that?"

"We'll see," Arthur conceded, glad that he wasn't going to lose any of the people he was trying to protect.

They plodded along in relative silence, except for when Alfred would occasionally stop to sniff at something. Supposedly, this was to help "Get into character," but Arthur thought to himself that he would have done it anyway. Eventually, they approached the family's house. Arthur shifted the boy into one arm for a moment to knock on the door.

The mother opened it, and gasped when she saw her son dripping wet in the stranger's arms.

"What happened?" She asked.

"He got into the river somehow," Arthur said, "He almost drowned, but he's breathing. My dog here jumped in to get him and pulled him to shore."

"Did he?" The woman looked gratefully down at the 'animal,' reaching down to scratch behind his ear, "That's a very good boy."

"Don't say that too loud," Arthur said, smirking, "He's full of it as it is."

"He saved my son's life," She said, holding out her arms to take the boy back, "He can be full of it for a while. Is there anything that I can get for him, or you, mister...?"

"Arthur," Arthur said, "And although I appreciate the offer, my pet and I should be fine,"

"Bastard," Alfred said, "I'm hungry."

Arthur almost snapped at him to wait, but then images flashed through his mind of what a starving fae was capable of, and whished that he hadn't responded so quickly.

"At least let me give him something," The woman said, "Dogs always enjoy treats."

"Oh, alright," Arthur said, smiling, thanking the heavens that she had offered again.

She went back into the house for a few moments.

"Awesome!" Alfred said, "I get noms!"

"Belt up. You're just lucky that I didn't want to fight with a mother who almost lost her son."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, wait a sec!"

Oh, that happiness in his eyes could not be good.

"Dude, I just realized. Since I saved your _human companion,_ you totally owe me!"

"So?"

"That means I get one request."

"Do you?"

"I do," The dog nodded.

"Alright," Arthur said, "What is this request?"

"I want you to come home with me for a day."

"You _what?" _

"Hey, it won't be too bad. Everyone's super cool in the City of Darkness. We have awesome parties all the time, and you can meet my brother. He pretends his human is a person too, so you'll totally get along."

"Alfred, this is a _bad _idea," Arthur said, choosing to ignore his comment on humans.

"I swear that you'll be fine," Alfred said.

"Do you mean that as a true vow?" Arthur asked, kneeling to be at his level.

Alfred rolled his eyes, "Well, I said it, didn't I? As long as you come with me to the City of Darkness, I swear that no harm will come until after you finish your visit."

The two stared at each other for a few moments. The dog looked hopeful, sweet, even charming.

Arthur's love of all things cute would be the end of him someday.

"Alright," he said, still somewhat unsure.

As the woman came back and gave a strip of meat to Alfred, cooing at him while he was unbeknownst to her doing the same, Arthur prayed. He prayed that he wouldn't live to regret his choice.

Then he prayed that he would at least have the chance to.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! I'm back. In this chapter there's a bit of CanadaxUkraine and past DenamrkxEngland (plus implied DenmarkxNorway). Because that's how I roll. STILL not done (grr…) but I was too much of a lazy ass Saturday. But part 3 WILL be the final part and is in the works, actually.

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><p>"So where is your stupid city anyway?" Arthur asked once they had gotten far enough away from the house that the light faerie had decided that it was safe for Alfred to regain his ostentatious preferred form. At least the idiot's wings were folded neatly behind his back and not spread to allow him to fly circles around the more sensible faerie.<p>

"Not far," he said, smiling annoyingly brightly, as always, "It's back by the river, actually. We live behind a waterfall."

"Come again?"

"A waterfall. All of our cities are behind waterfalls or in cliffs or something. What?" He asked, looking puzzled, "Where are yours?"

Arthur sniffed, "We have portals in the middle of the forest that take us somewhere dry, clean, and _civilized _where the sun never sets. The streets are paved with the finest bricks and the buildings are made of marble and gleam in the sun."

"Man, that sounds gaudy."

"It is _not _gaudy! It's perfectly lovely."

"Dude, your buildings _sparkle." _

Arthur repressed the urge to hit him, "Well, fine then. Tell me about your city."

"Nah," Alfred said, holding up a finger, "Don't wanna ruin the surprise."

Alright, it was getting really hard not to hit him, "I'm sure that's because it's disgusting and horrible!"

The other faerie let out a laugh, loud and annoying, "Well, why don't ya see for yourself? We're here." He pulled Arthur out from the trees.

They were standing atop a cliff, the river roared right over the side and created a magnificent cascade down the thirty feet or so until it hit the ground below and reformed into a gentile current. Instead of marveling over how lovely Alfred's front door was, he wondered how he hadn't heard the noise earlier. It must have been the obnoxious loudness of the other faerie's personality.

"Wonderful," Arthur said, "Now I suppose we fly down, change into fish, and swim in, eh?"

"Nope. It'd be too easy if you could just do that. The opening's right in the middle of the cave. Ya gotta move the water and rock and fly in."

"I can't do that, idiot!"

"Don't worry, I'll go first and hold the door open."

With that, he jumped, spreading his wings to catch the air. Arthur watched as the waterfall parted like a curtain, revealing a rather large cave mouth, and soared in gracefully as the last leaf on a tree falling to the ground in autumn. Then he reminded himself that leaves lived their lives in silence and relative stillness, and that was why he liked them in the first place, right? Right.

There was a murmur of voices, barely audible over the rushing of water, and then Alfred shouted, "Come on in, Artie. You're cool and clear."

"You would use such a boorish phrase, wouldn't you?" Arthur huffed. However, he still changed into a dove and fluttered down into the cave.

As soon as he landed and changed back into his usual form, the waterfall crashed closed. Arthur jumped at the loud noise and the sudden lack of light. As always, Alfred started babbling.

"Sorry, Artie, it's hard holding that open, so I like to drop it as quick as- Dude, I knew that you were pale, but I didn't know you were _that _pale."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Arthur demanded, putting his hands on his hips.

"You're glowing."

As Arthur's eyes adjusted to what he had thought to be complete darkness, he began to notice that the cave wasn't pitch-black. He could make out the shape of Alfred's face and the position of the stalagmites and stalactites. The further away that the cave features were, though, the darker they became. The light faerie didn't even have to look down to know that his skin was emitting the light.

"Ah," Arthur said, "Yes, that happens."

"Well, could ya turn it off?"

"Why ever should I do that?" He demanded, scowling, "The reason light faeries glow is so that we can find our way around. It would be pure foolishness to blind myself in enemy territory!"

Alfred looked genuinely hurt. There was an honest frown on his face, and his eyebrows were scrunched up in a way that couldn't be faked, "I'm not your enemy, Artie, what do I have to do to prove that? I saved one of your kids, I promised not to hurt you, and I'm even going to show you my house and my friends. What else do I have to do?"

The light faerie bristled. What did he think he was playing at? Arthur was no fool. He knew how the world worked, and he was not going to be taken advantage of. The boy was obviously manipulating him, using some dark magic to make himself seem trustworthy. The only reason that he was suddenly thinking all this was that he had been foolish enough weaken his spell now that they were in his world.

"Alfred, you're a dark faerie." He hissed, "You're evil by nature. It's not your fault. It's the way that things are. Light is good and dark is evil. It's not hard."

"That's not true!" Alfred exclaimed, balling a fist.

"I know you don't like it, but you need to accept that fact sometime."

"It's not a fact. You're just being a bigot."

"You don't even know what that word means!"

"Yes I do. It means that you're assuming all this shit about me just because I wasn't born like you."

"Is it assuming if I know it's true?"

"Yes! Because you're wrong. Come on, let me show you." He took Arthur's hand in his own. The light faerie was somewhat surprised to feel that they were rough. Almost like Alfred worked on a regular basis, "Just give me one chance."

"Why should I give you a chance if it might kill me?"

"Arthur, we can't die. You think you'd know this by now."

Arthur floundered for a moment. He hadn't expected _logic _from him. "You probably have a way," he finally said.

"You're just being stubborn."

"What if I am?"

The two of them just looked at each other for a moment. Alfred still looked upset, which was probably justified as Arthur had just insulted his entire species, but Arthur glared back defiantly. Then, the dark faerie set his jaw and hardened his eyes.

"Come with me."

"No."

"You swore it, and I need to prove this to you now."

Well, damn it all, he had, "It's not a good idea," He said weekly, pulling away.

"Come on," Alfred said, still holding out a hand. He seemed pacified by Arthur's inevitable defeat, "turn off your skin and I'll show you how we roll around here."

Arthur placed his hand back in Alfred's, closed his eyes, and willed himself to relax; letting the glow go out like any night he spent in the human world. When he reopened his eyes, he couldn't see Alfred's face a yard in front of his own. However, the warm firm grip on his hand was enough to let him know the other faerie was still there.

In spite of Alfred's presence, or maybe because of it, Arthur felt very afraid and very alone. Here he was, before the Dark Faeries' city, and he was blindly going to follow one of their own. Even if Alfred had sworn that he'd protect him, every instinct Arthur had told him to turn and flee.

Alfred seemed to sense this, though, and lifted his other hand to run through Arthur's hair, "It's okay," He said, "Don't think about seeing. Think of your other senses: what you hear, what you feel."

Arthur continued to stare in the other faerie's direction, but still did as he instructed. He could hear his own tense breathing and rushing heartbeat. He willed himself to relax further, until he could hear Alfred's calm and steady breaths. There was the rush of the waterfall outside, but there was also a trickle of water inside the cave. Arthur could tell that it was leading somewhere deep inside, but where? He felt the slightly damp stone of the cave floor beneath his bare feet and the cool wind coming from the heart of the cavern upon his face. He could feel Alfred's presence in front of him, strong, dark, and intensely magical. However, he also felt someone else to his right, still dark, still magical, but not so strong or overbearing. He was very different from Alfred and although he was a dark faerie, Arthur was astonished to find that he wasn't afraid.

"Who are you?" He asked, turning to face the stranger.

"Ah," Said a soft, smooth voice, "So you can feel me too? I wasn't sure you would notice anything over Alfred." Arthur could hear the stranger's footsteps approaching. Cloth rustled, "My name is Kiku. I am pleased to meet you."

"Arthur," Arthur replied, holding out his right hand, "And likewise, I'm sure."

After a moment, the newcomer, Kiku, grabbed his hand and tentatively shook it.

"Oh yeah," Alfred said, "Kiku's my best friend, and he's on guard duty today, which was why I made you promise to come today when you gave me the chance. Most guys wouldn't have let me bring you in."

"Most of us do not trust your kind any more than you trust us," Kiku explained, "Actually, I am doing this because I trust _Alfred_ and no one is awake right now."

"No one's awake?" Arthur lifted an eyebrow, "But it's the middle of the day."

"That's why," Alfred said, "No one likes to be up now since we can't move freely during the day with all you guys around and it's too bright for most of us anyway."

Arthur scowled, "Then why have you been following me?"

"Well, to be honest," he scratched the back of his head, "My eyes aren't that good, so it doesn't bug me as much. Anyway, if I wanna get you back home by sunset we'd better get going. Later, Kiku!"

He began walking deeper into the cave, dragging Arthur along. The light faerie let out a squawk when Alfred started walking, but soon found his bearings and fell into step. It was odd to be walking in total darkness, having to feel where he was going with every step and listen to his footsteps echoing to try to keep from walking into anything. However, it seemed as though there weren't many obstacles. The path to the city was most likely well-warn from centuries of use.

As they got deeper and deeper, something bad must have happened to Arthur's eyes. He could have sworn that from time to time he saw splashes of color, but that couldn't be the case. It was far too dark for him to be able to detect any sort of color, much less the vivid hues that seemed to appear on the cave walls. However, as they continued, there were more and more of the glowing patches. Eventually, he had to ask Alfred about them.

"Oh, the Glowstones? Yeah, they're cool, aren't they? They only grow in the caves we live in. No one's sure how they work, but it seems like they absorb magic and blast back color. We can get along fine without any light, but the pets go a little crazy if they can't see for too long, and they're kinda pretty. We've got 'em along the street edges, so if you wanna take your pets out but not all the way back into the mortal world they don't crash into things. Most people have some in their houses for looks or pets or if they like to write things down."

"You actually use light in the City of Darkness? I'm surprised," Arthur admitted.

"Well, yeah. You've got some shadows in the City of Light, right?"

"I suppose so," Arthur said, thinking back to the way that he would shut his curtains whenever he wanted to sleep or the canopies over the street-corner cafés that would provide respite from the summer sun.

"It's the same thing. We like the dark better, but you have to have a little of each."

Arthur didn't reply. It was his way of acknowledging that Alfred had a point without having to say it out loud.

Alfred didn't seem to feel the need to say anything either, but he was obviously getting more and more excited as they approached his city. The Glowstones became larger and larger, occasionally creating images, such as trees, fish, and occasionally humans. Sometimes they were abstract designs or patterns. Soon, there was enough light coming from the walls that Arthur could find his way without Alfred's help, although he hadn't bothered to pull his hand out of the other faerie's. It was because he was distracted by the pictures. Certainly. After a few more minutes, the two of them took a harsh turn and Arthur was faced with a truly magnificent sight.

He had been expecting the city to have gates. He had expected them to be tall, menacing things made of black metal and covered in all sorts of grotesque images. What he hadn't expected was a huge arch, made entirely from Glowstones of every color and shape imaginable. There was no pattern but not a piece felt out of place. It fit like some beautiful, ornate puzzle.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Alfred asked.

Arthur jumped, having almost forgotten about the other Faerie. When he looked over, Alfred was smiling softly up at the structure like a father to his newborn child. The different colors were reflecting off of his skin, making it seem like he was as many different hues at the structure.

"I'm not exactly sure how old it is. I helped build it, but you forget dates after a few hundred years, right? Me and Mattie, that's my brother, we were in charge of that part right there," He pointed somewhere near the top. Arthur tried to find a "part" anywhere in the vicinity, but the entire piece flowed together too perfectly, "A few of those were a pain to cut. Glowstones don't react normally to magic, so we had to carve all of 'em by hand. The queen was really particular and made us throw out a whole bunch, but looking at it now I guess it was worth it. Anyway, that's where all those other pictures come from. It's what we did with our extra rocks after we were done for the night."

"Right," Arthur said, still not quite able to look away.

"Come on, I wanna show you my and Mattie's place."

Before Arthur could complain and say that he wanted to stay longer, Alfred had gripped his hand more tightly and pulled him beneath the arch. They walked down what seemed to be the main street of the town.

"That's the biggest shop where you can get Glowstones. Over there's the courthouse. If you take this street five blocks, you'll wind up at Kiku's house. Oh! This is probably the best pet shop in the city. They've got all kinds of creatures and all different sorts of food for 'em. They usually don't keep humans since they're a pain to take care of and hate being separated from their babies, but you can get stuff for 'em. Here's a bookstore. Most of their stuff is boring, but they have some awesome books about people from the stars. Right over there is a place that's figured out how to make bread, and it's really good, especially if they managed to get some honey or butter. That's-"

Alfred droned on and on about all sorts of different shops or landmarks. Arthur was surprised to find that the tour wasn't that different from one he might have given of his home. Of course, he would have used better grammar, but the substance was comparable. What's more, from what he was able to make out of the buildings, they were even built in a similar style: two-story affairs with a shop below and home above, with roofs that were either perfectly flat to make more living space or slanted but covered with ornamentation since they didn't need to protect the rooms below from rain or changing seasons. In both cities, the castle of the King and Queen was at the very end of the main boulevard. In the City of Light it was pure white and covered with statuary and fountains whereas here it was covered in a mosaic of Glowstones like the arch, but other than that seemed the same. Arthur wasn't sure if it made him feel more at ease, or even more put off to be somewhere so much like home.

After they had walked several blocks, Alfred turned and led them down a smaller street. The buildings were less fanciful and closer together on this street, and Alfred seemed to be even more familiar with the area. He pointed out homes of more of his friends, although Arthur couldn't remember any of their names. He showed Arthur some of his favorite pubs and places to eat. He told anecdotes of events centuries ago, more often than not of times that he and his friends had done something especially foolish. But eventually, he stopped in front of an unremarkable house.

"And this," He said, letting go of Arthur and bounding up to the porch, "Is my place."

"Really?" Arthur asked.

"What were you expecting?"

"Knowing you? A house made entirely of bright yellow Glowstones." He smiled.

Alfred laughed, "Nah, my bro'd kill me. Now let's go in and see if he's up."

The dark faerie turned the knob and the door opened. He entered and gestured for Arthur to follow him. He did so without argument and found himself in a dark room.

"Normally you can see pretty well in here, but Mattie always covers the Glowstones when he goes to sleep. It helps keep his human asleep." There was the noise of cabinets opening from down the hall, "Although it don't always work. Come on; you can meet her."

Alfred took his hand and led him through the house until they reached what appeared to be a kitchen. There was a young human woman with a rather large chest and short hair that looked white (although, it may have been the powder-blue Glowstone that lit the room). She held a small roll in her hand.

"Welcome home, Alfred," She said, smiling sweetly.

"Hey, Kat," He replied, waving "This is Artie. Say hi."

"Hello, Artie," She said, "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. But please call me Arthur. Alfred is simply too thick to understand that I dislike being called that stupid nickname."

"Alright, Arthur," She said, a small frown appeared on her face, "But what are you? You're not human, but you don't seem to be a dark faerie either."

"I'll explain later," Alfred cut in, "So how's Mattie? Is he still asleep?"

"Yes, he's in our bedroom. Do you need him for anything?"

"Nope, just wanted to check. Anyway, me and Artie are gonna go hang out upstairs. Don't tell Mattie about this, okay Kat?"

The woman seemed to sense mischief, but she let it go, as she nodded and began to nibble at her roll.

"Awesome," Alfred said, "Now come on," He grabbed Arthur's arm and took him through the kitchen to a set of stairs.

Arthur was starting to have second thoughts about following the other faerie so willingly. It was the secrecy that unnerved him now. The only ones who had seen them were Alfred's best friend and a human who was seen as an animal. What was Alfred planning?

The light faerie just reminded himself over and over of the promise, that Alfred had swore no harm would come to him.

Once they reached the second floor, Alfred frowned. He walked over to an open door and shut it. Before it was closed all the way, he saw another faerie who looked a lot like Alfred lying on a bed completely naked.

"Dammit, Matt," Alfred muttered, "Teach Kat to close the door, will ya?"

Suddenly, something clicked in Arthur's head, "You mean that your brother and the human…"

"Yes."

"But…"

"I know."

"…Ew."

"That was my response. But he seems to really love her, and she loves him, and I like living with Matt. It's just one more reason that I haven't been able to eat humans or have pets for seven hundred years. Anyway, I don't wanna have to talk about that." He walked across the hall and opened the door, "This is my room. Come on in."

Arthur looked around. The first thing that he noticed was that it was a mess. Books and figurines littered the floor. There was a small path that led to the bed in the far corner, which had all of its sheets wrapped in an untidy bundle by the foot. Next to the bed was a desk covered in papers, pens strewn all over the surface. The bookshelf next to the window was half-empty, no doubt because most of its contents were upon the floor. The only neat part of the room was a table on the other side of the window, which had a large orange Glowstone upon it. No doubt that it was only tidy because there was no room for anything other than the rock.

Arthur picked up a book and figurine. The former looked like some sort of light novel, written for children, but the later was carved from wood with expert love and care. They looked like they should have belonged in two different houses, not thrown in the same pile.

"I'm sorry that it's such a wreck." Alfred said quickly, walking over and sitting on the bed, "I didn't know you'd be coming over, so I didn't really clean up."

"It's alright," Arthur said, "It's very you."

Alfred seemed to flush slightly, "T-thanks." He entered the room and shut the door.

"Well," the light faerie said, "You wanted to talk, right?"

"Yeah," Alfred looked away.

"What did you want to talk about?" Arthur asked, taking a step closer.

"Um…" The dark faerie began to fidget with the blanket pile.

Arthur sighed, "You were just making that up, weren't you?"

"No!" Alfred's face looked almost scared, "No, I really do wanna say something. I just… can't."

Arthur couldn't help but feel bad, seeing his face like that. He went and sat down next to him, "Erm, there, there. It's alright."

Alfred seemed to think for a moment, presumably about how best to approach the situation.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" He asked finally.

"Of course," Arthur said, smiling fondly, "You saw me carrying a deer to give to my family to eat, and you demanded that I give it to you so that you could take it to them. I didn't think that you would, so I wrapped a tree branch around you and ran."

Alfred laughed, "Oh yeah, I remember that. It's kinda funny, I guess, even if it was a pain in the ass to get myself free. But that's not what I'm talking about. But then again, maybe met isn't the right word, because I don't think you saw me."

"Describe it to me, then," Arthur said, playing along for now, starting to have an inkling of where the other faerie was going with this.

"It was the middle of the night some time in July about ten years ago. I was just hanging out, enjoying how nice it was, when all of a sudden, you go rushing past in your falcon form. It's not every night you see a light faerie come out of nowhere and fly by, so I followed your presence. By the time I caught up to you, you were sitting on a stump in this form, bawling your eyes out."

Arthur blushed in embarrassment. He remembered that night. His lover of over three centuries had left him for an elf across the sea. The bastard didn't even say it to his face; he just left a note on the kitchen table and disappeared. Well, who needed Mathias anyway? He had had a decade, and there was no point in dwelling on it, even if he had been so sweet when he wanted to be, and he would show him wonderful new things, and his big blue eyes and messy blond hair were adorable, and he'd loved him like no one else ever had, and…

The light faerie wasn't sure what was worse, that he was trying to prove to himself that he was over his ex-boyfriend and _failing _or that except for the last bit he may have well been describing Alfred.

"So what?" Arthur finally asked, "I have the right to cry if I want to. And it's not like you're supposed to follow a stranger who's in tears."

"Oh, damn it. I didn't want you to take it like that!"

"Look, it wasn't a particularly good time, so don't bring it up."

"But it's important to me," Arthur felt himself stiffen, "It's important to me because when I saw you crying there, cheesy as this sounds, I realized that I loved you. As soon as I saw you like that, I knew that I wanted to hold you and take care of you forever."

Well, forget what he had said about everything except for the last bit. "You shouldn't say things like that," Arthur said, blushing.

"Why not?" Alfred asked, "It's true. I love you, and I have loved you since I first saw you. The only reason it's taken me so long to get this far is that I haven't been able to find you."

"Alfred, I can't."

"Oh," He looked down, "I should have known that you wouldn't have felt the same way. I mean, it's really dumb, isn't it? I know we're really different, and our entire relationship up 'til now has been me bugging you, so it makes sense."

"Alfred, it's not that. You're trying, and I can tell that. And you really do deserve a chance because today's been… nice. It's just that this can't happen. I would be banished from my city if anyone found out, and I don't know what your punishment is for this sort of thing, but it's got to be nasty."

However, the dark faerie just smiled, "I know. I thought about it, and I decided that it'll be fine. There's another world out there, after all. We can leave; go live in the human world. I'll gather my stuff, you gather yours, and everything'll be great. If we love each other, it'll all work out. And the way you said that, you _do _love me back, right? Right?"

This was so foolish. Arthur would be throwing away everything on a silly dream, and hadn't he already had his heart broken this century? No level-headed person would even consider this. He should just get up and walk away. Even if he hadn't been promised more, Alfred was asking for so much… But that look on his face, so plaintive, so sweet…

Oh, since when had Arthur been known for being level-headed?

"I do," He said.

"Really?" Arthur didn't know if he'd ever seen Alfred smile so brightly, "You'll go with me?"

"I don't have much of a choice when you look at me like that," Arthur admitted, smiling, "But first," he took the larger faerie's hand in his, "Do you want to make it official?"

Alfred looked puzzled for a moment, trying to figure out what, exactly, Arthur was implying, but then he looked positively exuberant. He wrapped his arms around the other's chest and pulled him into a kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

Finally, finally sex. Awkward-first-time sex. Because that's how I roll.

Special thanks to my parakeet on this one because she had to sit through me messing with her wings to try to get the feather and bird anatomy stuff right.

Also, I'm very sorry to anyone who reviewed. Fanfiction is being a buttface and has not let me respond to any replies. It sucks! If anyone has had this problem and knows how to fix it, please let me know so that I can talk to you outside of the AN. Thanks!

Oh, and enjoy my paltry offerings~

* * *

><p>Arthur couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't even sure what it was at: how clumsily Alfred was trying to claim his lips, the impractical joy coursing through every fiber of his being, or even the situation, but he knew the laughter felt good all the same. Alfred smiled back against his lips and Arthur took control.<p>

He parted his mouth slightly to prod at the other faerie's lips with his tongue. Alfred opened, somewhat unsure, and Arthur slowly eased inside. His partner's tongue just lying against his bottom teeth, so he coaxed it up to tangle with his own. Arthur brought Alfred into his mouth, letting the other man explore. He couldn't help but let out another laugh as the dark faerie began to very tentatively, earnestly poke around. The boy was being so careful, like he was afraid to make one wrong step.

Normally, Arthur would have been annoyed by how slow and unsatisfying the touches were, but this time it was alright. Alfred was being so sweet, so tender. It didn't matter that his technique was lacking, because the sheer depth of the love shining through every little lick and swipe was more than enough to make up for it. Even the hesitant little prods were enough to make his lower half begin to stir. He berated himself for it, but it _had _been an awfully long time since he'd last had sex and a quick glance told him that Alfred wasn't doing any better.

Arthur buried his fingers in Alfred's hair, rubbing his scalp occasionally as a reward when he did something brilliant. After all, no matter how lovely Alfred was being Arthur would still feel like a failure if he hadn't taught him something. With his partner's help, Alfred quickly became bolder, using broad strokes instead of hesitant prods to map out Arthur's mouth.

However, before he taught the other man all he could, the light faerie began to feel himself running out of air. Oh well, Arthur would have centuries to train him; it wasn't like it all needed to be done in one afternoon. He moved one of his hands down to Alfred's back so that he could pull the two of them backwards and flip the larger faerie on top of him. As soon as they landed, Alfred lifted his head and looked down at Arthur as though he was afraid he had done something wrong.

The other faerie ran a hand through his hair, "You're alright, love. I just thought it was time to take this a little bit further."

"Oh!" Alfred said, suddenly blushing furiously "Oh right! Yeah, I-I guess we could do that."

"You don't want that?" Arthur asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"I do," He said quickly, taking one of the smaller faerie's hands, "God, I want this. I want you!"

They just stared at each other for a moment, eyes wide. The blush on Alfred's face darkened and Arthur felt himself going red as well. Quickly, both of them looked away. Arthur began to smooth out the wrinkles on the sheets and Alfred spread one of his wings slightly and gently picked at some of the large flight feathers.

"It's just that… I never got this far, and I'm nervous." The larger faerie finally said.

Arthur looked back, "You've never…"

Alfred turned to Arthur and gave him a sheepish smile, "Yeah, one-hundred-percent virgin here. Sorry."

"It's nothing to be sorry about." Arthur said, lifting a hand to pet the side of his face. That did explain the clumsiness and how bloody optimistic the lad was about this entire affair, "I just can't believe no one's tried to have their way with you yet."

"Well, I haven't exactly had that much time," He rubbed the back of his head, "And I didn't wanna go with just _anyone." _

Arthur was struck with a sudden thought, "Alfred, how old are you?"

"I'm about four-hundred; one of the youngest in the city. Even Mattie's a couple of days older than me."

Arthur balked up at him. When his partner was born he was still flitting around the City of Light and sleeping with everyone who caught his eye. He'd just met Mathias, but even though they'd been in each other's beds often enough, it was still before they had feelings for each other and began to settle. Yes, it was a significant portion of his life earlier, but he was still almost four times the boy's age.

"It's okay," Alfred said quickly, sitting up to knees over Arthur and holding out his hands, "It's okay! Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have told you! Look, I'm still an adult, even if I'm young. And I _do _really want you." He smiled again.

"I know you're an adult. It's just… surprising, I suppose. And dear God, I'm _old._"

Alfred let out a laugh, "So we're still cool?"

"Yeah," Arthur said, running his hands across Alfred's shoulders and soothing him back down, "It's fine. _We're _fine."

"Good," Alfred gave him a genuine smile.

"But do you know what this means, Alfred?"

"No. What?" He looked too worried for Arthur to tease the poor boy.

"It means that I get to teach you even more than I'd thought," before Alfred had time to respond, Arthur flipped them over. He leaned down to whisper in his partner's ear, "You think you can handle it?"

Alfred shivered, "Oh, definitely."

"Then off with this," he tugged on the neck of Alfred's tunic, "And let's get started."

"Right, but… um… is there any other way we could do this? This is kinda uncomfortable..." He shook again, and this time Arthur could tell he was trying to take some pressure off of his wings.

"O-of course there is," Arthur scooted backwards so that Alfred could sit up, "I just need a moment to think."

The obvious answer was to let the lad top, but it didn't seem like a good idea. It would be best if he at least knew the basic feel and mechanics of sex before leading. Looking around, he spied Alfred's desk chair.

"Follow me," he said, getting out of bed and taking Alfred's hand.

The younger faerie stood and Arthur took him to the chair.

"Sit," Arthur commanded.

"Here?" Alfred asked, doing as he was told.

"Your shoulders won't be against anything like this."

"Yeah, but can you do it on a chair?"

"Of course. There are many stranger and more difficult places." He left it at that. He didn't want to scare the lad or make him feel insecure by elaborating on his past experiences.

"Okay," Alfred said, tone betraying how he didn't quite believe it. He moved his wings, which had still been behind him, over the back of the chair and scooted so that he was against the wood.

The way Alfred was moving, Arthur couldn't help but notice the way that the orange light played off of the dark brown feathers, making a few of the lighter ones look almost golden.

They were beautiful, truly. It was the first time that the light faerie had ever considered the protrusions as anything more than a way for Alfred to shamelessly show off. Although at first they had seemed too ostentatious and grandiose, upon closer inspection they suited him perfectly. It just like the room: not something Arthur ever would have dreamed of liking, but they seemed like such a natural part of Alfred that he found himself drawn in.

He straddled Alfred's hips and began to stroke the wings, feeling the powerful muscles and strong bones beneath the soft smoothness of the feathers. Alfred sighed and both wings relaxed, spreading downwards slightly until the tips of the primary feathers reached the floor. After a few more moments of petting, the dark faerie's entire body seemed drained of tension, arms hanging down lazily and head oh Arthur's shoulder

"Aw man, Artie," he sighed, "You have no idea how good that feels."

"I suppose that I don't," Arthur replied, smiling.

"Well, I'll tell ya it's awesome."

"Right, so clothes off, then."

Alfred looked up and blushed, "You too. I don't wanna be the only one naked."

"Of course, love," Arthur said.

Alfred closed his eyes and his tunic melted away, the matter returning to his body from whence it came. Arthur followed suit, changing his anatomy slightly while he was at it to make his insides cleaner, a little bit wider, and slick to save time.

When he opened his eyes, he saw an absolute god staring back at him with mouth and eyes wide. Arthur felt a little bit embarrassed. Normally he was fairly confident in his appearance, but he wasn't in as good shape as he had been ten years ago since he'd more or less lost interest in attracting anyone, and Alfred was just _staring_. To make it worse, the other faerie looked _fantastic. _Arthur had known about his arms beforehand, but they only looked better now that he could clearly see the way that those firm muscles flowed perfectly into broad shoulders. His chest was well toned too, but it looked as though there was just a little bit of charming softness on his belly. He looked down further to see the other faerie's cock, not quite entirely hard but almost there, was perfect; fairly large, but not so long or wide that he would be painful to take.

"I-I have to ask," Arthur said to cover up his own embarrassment "What do you _really_ look like?"

"Whaddya mean?" Alfred asked, broken out of whatever spell had been keeping his eyes glued to Arthur's scrawny body, "This is me."

"But I thought dark faeries were supposed to be ugly," Arthur said, "You know, horrible scars, long fingernails, gray skin…"

The younger faerie shrugged. "Well, I guess some of us do, but that's pretty much a load of bull. We look normal. Well, except for these," He said, lifting a wing.

"They're real?" Arthur asked.

"Yep. Had 'em since I was born. We all do. It's just that most people think that they're too much of a pain to keep out, so they shape shift 'em away."

"You're joking."

"Nope. They really do get in the way sometimes. There's no way to sit in a high-backed comfy chair nicely, you can't lie on your back, and they get cold really easy in the winter."

"I suppose they would, but still," He gave one of Alfred's wings one more stroke before letting his hand come back to it's partner on his lap, "It's such a waste."

"That's why I keep mine." He spread his wings as far as he could, almost brushing the wall on both sides.

Arthur just stared for a moment at the way that the light went through those massive wings, silhouetting them. He looked at the spread of feathers, perfectly symmetrical on either side of Alfred's body. He saw the way each kind of feather had a different texture but all were connected; all were perfect for doing their job of lifting that magnificent body into the sky.

"I want you to hold me while we're doing it," Arthur said suddenly.

"Well yeah," Alfred said, "Wasn't that a given?" To illustrate his point, he slid his arms up and down Arthur's back.

"No, not like that. With your wings."

Alfred looked at him confusedly, "Okay…?"

Arthur blushed, "I'm sorry, I know it's strange."

"No, babe! It's not that bad! Look, if we're doing weird stuff I've got a request too." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of cloth dropping over the Glowstone and then the two were in complete darkness. "Glow for me," Alfred said.

"C-Come again?" Arthur asked.

"You know that thing you did when we first got through the waterfall where your skin glowed? Do it again."

"Wings first," Arthur said, wanting something to cover him.

Alfred sighed, "Fine,"

Arthur waited until the stiff primaries passed his sides and he was against the downy feathers of Alfred's coverts to allow himself to glow again. The other faerie was looking at him with that same open-eyed open-mouthed look.

"You're beautiful," the younger faerie whispered.

"Excuse me?"

He smiled, and his eyes sparkled in the light from Arthur's own skin, "I said 'you're beautiful.'"

Arthur felt himself blush.

"You really are," Alfred said, "I don't know if I've ever seen anyone as attractive as you in my life."

"D-don't say stuff like that," He turned away.

"Look at me," Alfred said, gently grabbing Arthur's jaw and turning back, "It's true. I love you and you're beautiful. I'm not gonna say that you're beautiful _because _I love you or anything dumb like that, because it'd imply you weren't really that good looking and you are. Don't you ever forget it."

Alfred initiated the kiss this time, gently guiding Arthur's lips down to meet his. Arthur was content to let them just share a sweet, chaste close-mouthed kiss for a few minutes, even if it didn't quite fit the mood of sitting in Alfred's lap while both of them were naked and half hard. Actually, the younger faerie was the first to make a move again, opening his mouth and letting his tongue slide against Arthur's teeth until he opened as well. At first they both attempted to keep it sweet and loving, but at some point it got away from them and there was a messy tangle of tongues as both attempted to ravish each other. Given, Arthur was at an advantage because of centuries of experience more than the poor boy, but Alfred was very energetic and a very quick learner. They began to feel each other's bodies. Arthur ran his hands up and down Alfred's well-muscled arms and teased at his sides while his lover stroked his back and groped his rump.

"I want it _now_," Alfred said as they pulled away.

Arthur nodded. Usually he liked to be stretched by his partner, but he also liked sitting there enveloped by Alfred. The other faerie's lap was below him; his chest was in front of him; his arms and wings were encircling the rest of him. He felt so warm, so safe, so loved. He didn't want to have to leave. Instead, he used his magic to widen himself just a little bit further, lifted himself, and carefully aligned Alfred's now fully-erect member with his entrance. He took a deep breath and lowered himself onto his lover's cock.

Both of them let out a loud groan. Alfred's was pure pleasure, but Arthur's held just a tinge of pain. Dammit, he still hadn't made himself quite wide enough. It wasn't enough to stop, but he needed to just adjust for a moment. At this point he might as well just let himself stretch and enjoy the feeling of being full to the brim. However, Alfred hadn't trained himself to be ready for that and instinctually began to buck his hips.

"Stop it!" Arthur cried.

"What's wrong?" The younger faerie asked, halting his movements, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, not really. Just… a moment please." He placed his head on Alfred's shoulder and focused on breathing deeply and relaxing his muscles.

"Okay," Alfred said. The poor lad was frozen; obviously petrified that he'd done something wrong. Arthur could feel the tension in every tendon and muscle he chanced across.

"It's alright, love," Arthur said, running his hands across the other faerie's back. For a moment, he marveled at the irony of the moment: that the one experiencing pain was consoling the one who had caused it.

However, it wasn't much pain at all, and within a minute, Arthur braced his arms on Alfred's shoulders and with a, "Now, pay attention," began to move up and down.

It was an awkward position. He hadn't had chair sex very often for that exact reason. He was giving Alfred orders on how to angle his hips so that he could get any sort of depth, but it still wasn't really helping. Even with Alfred learning to time his thrusts to Arthur's drops, it was still to shallow and it wasn't the right angle to please either of them.

But still, it was good enough. It didn't matter that Alfred would occasionally buck in a way that was truly painful. It didn't matter that Arthur wasn't full enough. It didn't matter that he had to bend his back in a horrible manner to keep contact. It felt good to be with someone who he could feel truly loved him. It felt good to be held and kissed and made love to. It felt good to hear Alfred gasping, "I love you, Artie," and "You're so fucking sexy, babe."

Then, he felt a pair of strong hands on his hips and Alfred stilled beneath him.

"You're not enjoying this," Alfred said.

"Of course I am," Arthur replied honestly.

"Well, you're not enjoying this as much as I am. I can tell."

"It's fine, Alfred." He nuzzled the larger faerie's neck, "This is more about you than me tonight."

"If it's about me, then I want _you _to love this as much as me."

Well damn it all if it wasn't the worst time for Alfred to learn to comprehend logic, "Well, what do you propose we do?" Arthur demanded.

"Now, pay attention," Alfred said, attempting to copy Arthur's speech patterns and mangling them.

However, before Arthur could comment on it, Alfred picked him up. The light faerie didn't know how he did it. All he knew was that one second he was impaled on Alfred's cock, and the next he was in Alfred's arms bridal-style and being carried to the bed. Alfred set him down tenderly and kissed his temple. He kneeled above the older faerie and looked down with a sweet smile on his face.

"I'm gonna make love to you," he said, blushing.

"Are you sure you don't want me to lead?" Arthur asked to ignore the waves embarrassment and awkwardness that was trying desperately to control the situation.

"I'm sure," he confirmed, "So long as you don't mind being my test-run tonight. I mean, I still want you to help and stuff, because other wise it could be really bad and I could probably break your-"

He should really, _really _have stopped talking by then. To make him shut up, Arthur looped his knees over Alfred's shoulder, privately proud that he was still flexible enough to do so easily.

"Wings, Alfred," He said, smiling up.

Alfred grinned, taking that as an "okay," but thankfully not elaborating. The huge brown wings came down on either side of Arthur's head and Alfred put his weight on one hand so that the other could line him up with Arthur's entrance.

Or at least attempt to. He seemed to be having trouble getting in using one hand. Arthur reached down to help spread himself further, and after a few more seconds Alfred pushed in with a sigh of relief.

Arthur gasped and his hands fell back onto the mattress. Oh god, this was what he had been missing. Alfred's cock was still stretching him just a little bit, and now that he was balls-deep Arthur was experiencing being properly filled for the first time in years. He was in a daze for a moment, forgetting everything in the world but the feeling of his lover's manhood.

"You okay, Artie?" Alfred asked, "Did I go too fast again?"

"No, no." He said, forcing himself out of his trance, "This is lovely. Move now."

Alfred began to thrust just a little too quickly and eagerly, but Arthur couldn't care about taking it slow with the divine way that his insides were being massaged. However, as he got over being fucked for the first time in ages, Arthur began to realize that Alfred was doing as poorly as one would expect a virgin with no direction to do.

"Steady pace, Alfred," Arthur said, "Go slowly and try to make each one matter."

Alfred nodded and with visible effort went from a breakneck pace to one that was sluggish enough that Arthur wondered if he had stopped moving.

"Not that slowly."

Alfred sped up a little bit, and Arthur coaxed him one direction or another until it was a rhythm that they could both enjoy.

"Now," Arthur said, "You want one steady angle. Go a little higher. A little more. Now left. Oh, my left. Just a little lower. A bit further left. Oh god yes! Right there every single time if you can manage it, alright?"

"Yeah," Alfred breathed. His face was bright red with exertion. Arthur didn't know how much longer the lad would last. He would have to hurry to catch up.

He began to thrust back against Alfred, bringing their hips together harder than he had before, enjoying the feeling of his lover rubbing all along his inner walls.

Technically, it was still horrible. Alfred tried, he really did, but he was still a little bit too random in his movements to turn Arthur's brain to mush. However, he was more than good enough to do that to his heart. He was looking down with a smile the entire time, whispering words of love and giving out tender caresses.

Knowing that Alfred wouldn't be able to multitask that well, Arthur wrapped his own hands around his cock. He did everything he could to speed up his orgasm, but Alfred still came first. He fell, settling on Arthur and laying there as limp as fur after a rainstorm.

Arthur didn't mind one bit. He had kind of missed the way it felt to have a warm, strong body pressing down on him. He pulled his hand away and instead rutted against Alfred's hip bone. With the smell of sex and Alfred in the air and the weight on his chest, Arthur came within seconds.

He wrapped his arms around Alfred's back, only to find that the other faerie had already fallen asleep with his cheek on Arthur's bony ribcage. Smiling, Arthur ran his fingers through Alfred's hair.

He was throwing his entire life away for this idiotic child, and he had never felt happier.


	4. Epilogue

Arthur awoke, as usual, to noise on the first floor. He understood that Alfred worked at night, but did he really have to wake him every morning with his clomping around? However, he couldn't be mad when Alfred walked into their bedroom, covered in dust but smiling as though he had just cured cancer.

"How was work, love?"

"Awesome. We finally finished busting up the concrete on that off ramp."

"That's good." He sat up, "Did you have plans for the rest of the night?"

"Just the usual," he walked to the bed and lifted Arthur into his arms, "Shower sex, food, maybe a short movie, and then more sex before you lock yourself in the study all day."

Arthur scowled, "You know, sometimes I miss that boy that would always blush and fidget if he wanted to suggest we as much as kissed."

"Dude, if I still did that after a thousand, I'd have serious problems."

"You speak as though you don't have 'serious problems.'"

"Well, I thought staying with you was a given, cantankerous old man."

"It's only because I'm mad enough to allow you, spoiled child."

"I know. You have to be mad to let a total stud lay into you all the time."

"Remind me, who was the one bent over the kitchen table this last evening?"

"Rare reward because you actually sold one of your cliché books."

"Shut up, ingrate."

"Only if you put a sock in it, douche bag."

Arthur still kissed him as he set him down on his feet in the tub. He still stroked his wings once Alfred changed back into his true form. He still wrapped his legs around the other man's waist and made love against the cold tile wall.

His life was certainly different than he had ever dreamed, living in a human city across the ocean from his birthplace. However, even now, he couldn't bring himself to regret a second he spent after that boy fell in the water all those lifetimes ago.


End file.
